Dividend Reinvestment Calculator NZ
This calculator shows New Zealand investors how much extra wealth comes from reinvesting dividends instead of taking them as cash, one of the most overlooked drivers of long-term investment growth. You enter the amount invested, the dividend yield you expect, the annual share price growth rate, and the number of years you plan to hold the investment. The calculator projects two outcomes side by side: the value if every dividend is reinvested to buy more shares, and the value if dividends are instead paid out as cash while only the share price keeps compounding. It returns the reinvested total, the cash-option total, and the extra amount you gain by choosing to reinvest, so the gap between the two strategies is easy to see in dollar terms. Reinvesting means your balance compounds at the combined rate of price growth plus yield, while the cash option compounds only on price, with dividends collected separately and left uninvested. Use the calculator to test different yields, growth rates, and time horizons, and see how far the compounding gap widens the longer you hold. It is a useful check before switching on a dividend reinvestment plan with your broker or fund. Figures are shown before tax, actual dividends and prices will vary year to year, and returns are never guaranteed, so treat the results as an indicative estimate rather than financial advice.
Reinvesting compounds dividends as if buying more shares each year. The cash option grows only by price, with dividends taken out and added separately without compounding. Figures are before tax, and returns are not guaranteed. Estimate only, not financial advice.
How it works
When dividends are reinvested, your whole investment grows at the combined rate of price growth plus dividend yield, compounding each year. When dividends are taken as cash, only the share price grows in a compounding way, while the dividends are received and set aside without earning further returns. The calculator projects both so you can see the gap, which widens dramatically over long periods thanks to compounding.
Worked example
A $20,000 investment with a 4% dividend yield and 4% price growth over 25 years grows to around $137,000 with dividends reinvested, since it compounds at about 8% a year. Taking the dividends as cash leaves the shares worth about $53,000 plus the dividends received as cash along the way, a noticeably lower total once compounding is lost.
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- Compound Interest Calculator: compounding.
- Investment Calculator: project investments.
- Dollar-Cost Averaging Calculator: regular investing.